{"id":786351,"date":"2026-07-08T06:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/786351\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T06:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:04:15","slug":"the-f1-rumour-mill-is-in-overdrive-oscar-piastri-is-at-the-centre-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/786351\/","title":{"rendered":"The F1 rumour mill is in overdrive. Oscar Piastri is at the centre of it"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Oscar Piastri has been here before, at the centre of Formula 1\u2019s \u201csilly season\u201d. Who could forget the \u201cbizarre and frankly upsetting\u201d scenes<\/a> four years ago as Alpine announced him as their driver before the team\u2019s legal wrangle with McLaren for his services?<\/p>\n

As drivers and teams manoeuvre, the focus is on who will keep, move or be ditched from the most coveted seats in motor sport.<\/p>\n

\"OscarOscar Piastri\u2019s future is the subject of intense F1 speculation.Getty Images<\/p>\n

The driver market is intense, and this year\u2019s is in overdrive, with Piastri in the thick of it as reports fly about a potential Max Verstappen defection to McLaren \u2013 which could knock Piastri out of the papaya-coloured English team with which he entered F1.<\/p>\n

Piastri, 25, is under contract until 2028, pocketing up to $US26 million a year<\/a>, but his relationship with McLaren has been strained since his title battle with teammate and No.1 driver Lando Norris<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n

As Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, which has close links to the Verstappens, said: \u201cIt is not a truly healthy situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The four-time world champion also has a trigger clause, open to him should he not be in the top two by the summer break. He sits seventh with just 76 points from nine races, and cannot reach that target.<\/p>\n

\"MaxMax Verstappen (right) with Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Verstappen added fuel to a potential shift over the weekend, having crashed out of the British Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the rear wing doesn\u2019t close fully, you lose a lot of downforce, and you spin off the track,\u201d a frustrated Verstappen said. \u201cSo, yeah. One time, OK, but two times \u2026 this is becoming dangerous for myself. And obviously, I don\u2019t want that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mercedes, longstanding admirers of Verstappen, appear to have committed to Kimi Antonelli and George Russell for 2027. As have Ferrari to Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n

That leaves Verstappen pondering a shift to McLaren, although McLaren boss Zak Brown has reaffirmed he is \u201chappy\u201d with Piastri and Norris, and does not expect to make changes.<\/p>\n

\"OscarOscar Piastri (second from right) arrives in the paddock at Sao Paulo with his manager Mark Webber (back left).Getty Images<\/p>\n

When asked about the rumours of a switch to Red Bull last month, Piastri said he was happy at McLaren.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is news to me. There\u2019s obviously not been any discussions or anything, but it\u2019s flattering and there\u2019s not really much more than that, really,\u201d he told Autosport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, hopefully, it proves my stock as a driver, which is a nice thing, but I\u2019m very happy with where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Max<\/a><\/p>\n

To accommodate Verstappen, McLaren would have to find $US70 million a year, the sport\u2019s highest-paid driver having signed with Red Bull through 2028.<\/p>\n

The blunt and opinionated Verstappen<\/a> can also provide headaches off the track. One theory is that Brown is using Verstappen to apply pressure to his drivers.<\/p>\n

However, it must be noted that Verstappen\u2019s race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, who is also Red Bull\u2019s head of racing, is leaving for McLaren at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

Verstappen could even quit the sport altogether, which he has flagged as an option at times this season.<\/p>\n

What lever can Piastri pull?<\/p>\n

Should Piastri and his manager Mark Webber, the former Australian Formula 1 ace, officially declare it\u2019s time for change, Piastri reportedly could activate his release clause and terminate his contract.<\/p>\n

This release clause is available to him should he not be among the top five in the drivers\u2019 standings by the time the northern summer break arrives, London\u2019s Telegraph has reported.<\/p>\n

He currently sits sixth (82 points), with two more races before the break, beginning with the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton notably activated his release clause in 2024<\/a>, allowing him to leave Mercedes for Ferrari. As Formula 1 contracts are confidential, the exact number of drivers who have activated release clauses is unclear.<\/p>\n

Webber may push Piastri to activate his clause as he knows what it\u2019s like to deal with second driver syndrome from his own driving days with Red Bull, when he was second wheel to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.<\/p>\n

\"LewisLewis Hamilton wins his maiden Grand Prix with Ferrari, in his second season since leaving Mercedes.Getty ImagesWhat\u2019s gone wrong this season?<\/p>\n

After the drama of the opening two rounds, when Piastri failed to even start at his home grand prix<\/a>, having crashed out during the reconnaissance lap, followed by a shock 19th placing in China, Piastri appeared on the rise in Japan (second) and Miami (third). But his campaign has never really got going.<\/p>\n

His car hasn\u2019t been up to scratch, an underdeveloped chassis lacking downforce, while the new engine rules have also hurt<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The frustration Piastri felt at Silverstone was palpable. Having started eighth on the grid, he edged Norris before there was damage to his front wing. Instead of being called into the pits immediately, Piastri remained on track until the end of the second lap, having dropped to 14th. When he returned with a new front wing, he had slipped to 21st \u2013 his afternoon over.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur pace was a bit stronger today, and the car was better in clean air, but the collision meant we couldn\u2019t capitalise on any of it,\u201d Piastri said, having previously never finished lower than fourth at Silverstone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team are working hard to improve the car, especially around rear grip, so we will keep pushing. We\u2019ll debrief and turn our focus to Spa.\u201d<\/p>\n

What now?<\/p>\n

The circus lands at the picturesque Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium from July 16 (with the race on July 19), where Piastri and Verstappen will need to quickly refocus.<\/p>\n

But speculation about their futures will continue to dominate headlines, with both men to face a ravenous media pack.<\/p>\n

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\"JonJon Pierik<\/a> is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":786352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-786351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/786352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}